Power plane for transporting fishing line

Abstract

A carrier is movable up and down a heavy downrigger or weight line by a hydrodynamic responsive plane the attitude of which is responsive to the presence or absence of a lightweight fishing line and lure attached to a trailing end of the carrier. Release of the fishing line trips the plane about an axis transverse to the carrier into an upward movement mode.

I claim: 
     
       1. Fishing line transporting apparatus for automatically moving a releasable light fish line down a heavily weighted weight line moving through the water and returning to the surface of the water when the light line is released, comprising: a carrier,   means slidably coupling the carrier for movement along the heavily weighted line,   means on the carrier for releasably holding a light fish line and lure,   a hydrodynamic responsive plane on said carrier for transporting the carrier up and down the weight line depending on its angular attitude as the weight line is moved laterally through the water,   means for releasably holding the hydrodynamic responsive plane in a down mode condition with the surface angled to provide a downward force vector on the carrier, and   means for changing the angular attitude of the hydrodynamic responsive plane to an up mode condition with the surface angled to provide an upward force vector on the carrier when the fish line is released from the fish line holding means thereby returning the carrier to the water surface to be reused.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1, said plane being pivotally mounted on said carrier, said carrier having a rudder for holding the plane pivot axis generally at right angles to the direction of movement of the weight line through the water, said hydrodynamic responsive plane angular attitude changing means including weight means on said plane on one side of said pivot for raising the forward end of the plane into said up mode condition. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 2, said weight means including lighter-than-water flotation means on said plane forward of said pivot axis. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 2, said hydrodynamic responsive plane downward mode holding means including clip means having one end pivotally attached to said plane rearward of said plane pivot axis and having a set of pinching arms for holding a bead attached to said fishing line, tab means on said carrier for supporting said bead against movement toward said spring clip means pivotal attachment to hold the plane in said downward movement mode, said bead being releasably held by said pinching arms with a force less than resulting from a fish striking the lure whereby a force equivalent to a hooked fish will pull the bead out of the spring clip means thereby releasing the plane for movement into its upward mode. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of claim 4, said spring clip means including means for adjusting the pinching force of said pinching arms. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of claim 2 or 5, said carrier including stop members for locating the angular attitude of the plane in its upward and downward movement modes. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claims 1 or 4 including flotation means sufficient to raise said carrier only when forward movement of the carrier is halted and the fish line is released from the carrier. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of claim 1, said means for changing the angular attitude of the hydrodynamic responsive plane including spring means for assisting in raising the forward end of the plane into said up-mode condition.